It appears that Sony is trying hard to avoid a revival of the format wars this time round, by coming together with NEC. With Sony a supporter of Blu-ray, and NEC a believer in HD-DVD, both firms will join to form a new company named “Sony NEC Optiarc”. This new manufacturing company will supply optical disc drives to both parent companies. Although it is not clear if Sony will be marketing HD-DVD drives, the scenario might be well similar to Toshiba, with Toshiba Samsung Storage Technology (TSST), where Toshiba, a HD-DVD supporter, will have access to Blu-ray technologies. “While Sony maintains its support for Blu-ray and the company cannot be expected to change its position in the foreseeable future, the company has laid the foundation to have access to the competing HD-DVD format as well. An optical disc drive joint-venture with NEC, one of the leading developers of such drives, could become a safety net for Sony – just in case Blu-ray fails.” It appears that Sony is trying hard to avoid a revival of the format wars this time round, by coming together with NEC. With Sony a supporter of Blu-ray, and NEC a believer in HD-DVD, both firms will join to form a new company named “Sony NEC Optiarc”. This new manufacturing company will supply optical disc drives to both parent companies. Although it is not clear if Sony will be marketing HD-DVD drives, the scenario might be well similar to Toshiba, with Toshiba Samsung Storage Technology (TSST), where Toshiba, a HD-DVD supporter, will have access to Blu-ray technologies. “While Sony maintains its support for Blu-ray and the company cannot be expected to change its position in the foreseeable future, the company has laid the foundation to have access to the competing HD-DVD format as well. An optical disc drive joint-venture with NEC, one of the leading developers of such drives, could become a safety net for Sony – just in case Blu-ray fails.”